Gaston Cabernet Sauvignon

named for Amalia and Julio’s son, Christian Gastón, comes from the best lots of Cabernet on the vineyard, and is made and released only when the family feels that the wine will live up to its special designation. Generally this wine features a focused intensity along with a rich texture, with notes of cocoa and blackberries cradled in lush oak-driven aromas. Whatever the year, one constant remains: This wine represents the estate’s best.

You could say the 2015 was the culmination of previous years combined. The fruit concentration and bold structure from sunny and warm harvests paired with the fruit-forward voluptuousness of a cooler year made for an enticing vintage.

The perfect replacement for an after-dinner coffee, the 2010 Gaston’s olfactory mélange mimics a French-pressed brew, down to the lingering aromatic titillation of coffee grounds, chicory and fresh blackberries.

Reminiscent of picking berries in a forest, this wine features aromas of ripe fruit and earthy woodland floor. The wine’s mid-palate has a distinct weightiness that carries through to a lingering finish of broad, silky tannins.

After a three-year hiatus from making Gaston, the 2005 vintage marked a welcome return. The fruit from this vintage comes from the Tennis Court parcel; the soil features tailings from the cave, giving the grapes a very rocky foundation.